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WILSONVILLE, Ore., April 4, 2005 -Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) today announced that its Precision{reg} Synthesis tool will be integrated into two Xilinx Education Services courses for complex FPGA designs. Xilinx selected the Precision Synthesis tool because the synthesis flow from Mentor Graphics is already tightly integrated into the Xilinx ISE design environment. Precision Synthesis also has the functionality and capabilities needed to explain the complex FPGA design concepts presented at these advanced classes. Expected customer demand, plus the Precision Synthesis tool's ability to provide high quality of results in terms of maximum frequency and area, was motivation to include the tool in the company's advanced FPGA design training classes.

Both of the training courses, entitled Designing for Performance and the Advanced FPGA Implementation, focus on advanced FPGA techniques for challenging design situations. The first class teaches students how to fit their designs into smaller FPGAs or lower speed grades, thus helping them create more efficient designs and reducing their overall system cost. Topics in the second class include ways to manually place logic, as well as creating and editing timing constraints, among others. Students also learn how to take advantage of the clock resources of the Virtex and Spartan families of devices, with their efficient clocking schemes.

"Our classes add tremendous value, since they typically include training on tools that the students regularly use for their high-end designs," said Patrice Anderson, worldwide manager of customer education at Xilinx. "We found this to be the case with Precision Synthesis."

"Advanced classes are becoming mandatory for today's FPGA designers as device sizes and complexities reach ASIC-like levels. While a pushbutton approach may work in some cases, optimizing larger FPGAs to meet design specifications with predictable schedules increasingly calls for innovative techniques and productive flows," said Simon Bloch, general manager of the Design Creation and Synthesis Division at Mentor Graphics. "Mentor Graphics will continue to work with Xilinx to help our mutual customers leverage the advanced capabilities of our tools and fully benefit from the power and flexibility of today's high-end FPGAs."

The Precision Synthesis tool is the third Mentor Graphics{reg} tool used by Xilinx in its classes. The other advanced tools include the HyperLynx{reg} tool, for signal integrity issues, and the ModelSim{reg} tool, for simulation and verification, both of which are already actively used in Xilinx training classes. The advanced Xilinx FPGA classes start in April 2005. To learn more about Xilinx training courses, class schedules and enrollment, go to: www.xilinx.com/support/services/education.htm

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of over $700 million and employs approximately 3,850 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/

Editor's Note: The Xilinx name and logo are trademarks of Xilinx Inc. Mentor Graphics, Precision, HyperLynx and ModelSim are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.